


Aftermath

by Kuroo (DrifterWriter)



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Angst, Fluff, Humour, I have an exam tomorrow and this is what I'm doing, I just HAD to write this okay I couldn't not, It's funny hopefully, It's not actually spooky, It's not scary till a point, J O Y, M/M, More Relationships to be added, More characters to be added, Oh trust me there will be angst, Sorry Not Sorry, The minute it becomes even remotely creepy I'll let you know, but not yet, ghost au, levi is a ghost, more tags will be added
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-03
Updated: 2017-07-03
Packaged: 2018-11-22 21:57:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,475
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11389215
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DrifterWriter/pseuds/Kuroo
Summary: Out of all the things Eren Jaeger had expected to be in his adult life, haunted was not one of them.And yet.He drew the covers up to his chin as if they'd protect him from whatever was clanging around in his new apartment, trying not to yell out loud. He'd never been so terrified before, not even when he'd had to kill those two thugs to save his sister. At least he'd known what those thugs were like an how to attack them, but a ghost—?He considered calling Mikasa or Armin for help, but then he remembered that they were miles away. Even if Armin did come up with a plan, Eren would be dead already.Joy. How do you escape a ghost anyway?Maybe I can make it to the fire escape before it gets to me, he thought, grimly, as he straightened up. He didn't particularly want to see what it looked like, he just wanted to get the hell out of here before—"Boo.""AAAAAARGHHH!" He screamed, closing his eyes and lashing out as hard as he could."Oof! Ouch, kid, what the fuck?"//Or the one in which Levi is a ghost and Eren is trying not to fall in love.





	Aftermath

**Author's Note:**

> My first work in the anime fandom! I'm so excited!
> 
> There will be swearing. Let me know if you want me to change the rating because of it. This is unbeta'd, so all mistakes are mine. 
> 
> I couldn't get this AU out of my head and honestly I think this pairing is just perfect for it. Just to clarify, cause a lot of you don't read the tags (are you reading this either?) this will be on the humorous side, though there will be some spookiness and actually dangerous ghosts and sad flashbacks as the story progresses. I'll let you know as they come.
> 
> Enjoy!

Out of all the things Eren Jaeger had expected to be in his adult life, _haunted_ was not one of them.

And yet.

He drew the covers up to his chin as if they'd protect him from whatever was clanging around in his new apartment, trying not to yell out loud. He'd never been so terrified before, not even when he'd had to kill those two thugs to save his sister. At least he'd known what those thugs were like an how to attack them, but a ghost—?

He considered calling Mikasa or Armin for help, but then he remembered that they were miles away. Even if Armin did come up with a plan, Eren would be dead already.

Joy.

Counting up to ten in loops, trying to keep his breath steady, he inched out of bed making as little noise as possible, though his heart sounded like a goddamn machine gun in his ears. Bending down quietly to pick up his phone from the floor, he tried to formulate a plan— before unsuccessfully giving up. He wasn't the smartest guy and, well, self-preservation had never been his forte.

How do you escape a ghost anyway?

 _Maybe I can make it to the fire escape before it gets to me_ , he thought, grimly, as he straightened up. He didn't particularly want to see what it looked like, he just wanted to get the hell out of here before—

_"Boo."_

"AAAAAARGHHH!" He screamed, closing his eyes and lashing out as hard as he could. Instantly, he visualised his funeral in his mind, Mikasa looking stunning in a black figure-flattering dress with tears pouring down her face in tandem with the rain as Armin spoke highly about his best friend in a voice that trembled. Even Jean looked distressed, and Sasha wasn't even eating.

_This is the end, I'm gonna die, Mikasa, Armin, I love you, don't give my laptop to Jean before deleting my browser history—_

"Oof! Ouch, kid, what the fuck?"

It was the fact that the voice sounded completely human that made Eren open his eyes almost involuntarily, heart hammering.

He did _not_ see what he was expecting to see.

The man— apparition? spectre? ghost?— was unusually short, standing at least a good five inches shorter than Eren. He had chains around his hands and uncut, long black hair that fell to his shoulders, pale but healthy looking skin, some red liquid too thin to be blood dripping out of the corner of his eyes and more smudged black eyeliner than he'd ever seen on anyone before. If Eren hadn't been so shit scared, he would have laughed. It looked like Jean had tried to give Mikasa a makeover.

The most impressive part about his appearance, even with the ridiculous makeup, was the scowl on his face— never mind that he was five feet tall. His expression added four feet of attitude.

Judging by the way the ghost was clutching his side, Eren had apparently hit him when he'd lashed out. At least Mikasa's insistence on self-defence classes had paid off.

As it was, Eren was so startled that he forgot to be scared.

"You scared me first!" He said defensively, resolutely ignoring the part of his brain that went _holy shit what the fuck you're talking to a ghost Eren get the fuck out of here before he recovers_.

"I'm a ghost!" The ghost glared at him. "I'm supposed to be scary!"

"Yeah, well, you're doing a right good job," Eren snorted.

"Hey, brat, watch your attitude!"

"This is my house, I can say what I like!" Eren glared back. More than anything, the steely-eyed glare was kind of disconcerting. It felt like the ghost was analysing everything about him and burning him up from the inside. "Who are you, anyway?"

"I'm a ghost," said the ghost again, as if saying it twice made it more true. "I live here."

"This is _my_ house," Eren pointed out. "I paid for this place, it's under my name, so you can get the fuck out now. I'll show you to the door."

He started for the door.

"Salty, aren't you?" The ghost snorted, crossing his arms. The chains and shackles disappeared from his hands. "You can't get me to leave. I can't leave."

Eren stopped in his tracks, his heart sinking. "What do you mean?"

"What I said, brat. I'm stuck here. And unless you leave, you're stuck here with me."

Eren groaned. _Just what I needed._ He suddenly felt tired— the adrenaline rush from encountering the ghost was dying down. All he wanted to do was close his eyes and sleep.

"What the fuck," he complained.

"Indeed," agreed the ghost, looking as disgruntled as he felt. 

Eren sat down on the bed so the ghost was looking down at him, which seemed to give the shorter one some kind of satisfaction. He uncrossed his arms and turned his glare down just a notch.

"So," Eren said.

"So."

"So you're harmless?"

The ghost snickered. "I could kill you in a heartbeat, kid." He levelled his stare on him again, grey eyes on green. "I just didn't want to."

"What?" Eren asked, confused, squashing the spike of terror that went through him at the ghost's words. He didn't sound like he was joking. "Why?"

The ghost shrugged. "I don't like killing people. It's pointless. I just scare away whoever moves into this place. They're usually gone in a week."

Eren groaned, falling backwards onto the bed in defeat. "I knew there was a reason that blond dude gave me such a good price."

The ghost made a sound like tch.

There was an uncomfortable silence. Eren stares up at the whitewashed ceiling.

 _I'm having a conversation with a ghost,_ he told his brain.

 _You sure are,_ his brain agreed.

 _What the fuck,_ he told his brain.

_Yeah._

"Don't think so much," the ghost said suddenly, making him jump. "It looks like you're in pain."

"Hey!"

"What? Just stating facts."

"Are you always such an asshole?"

The ghost shrugged. "You're the first person I've spoken to in a while, so I don't really know."

That piqued Eren's interest. "Really? How long?"

The ghost looked like he was about to reply, but then changed tack, an annoyed expression gracing his face. "Why do you care, brat?"

"I'm curious, okay?" Eren said. "You're the first ghost I've met."

"And you'd better hope I'm the last," the ghost chuckled darkly, no humour in his tone. It sent shivers down Eren's spine.

"What do you mean?"

The ghost sighed, but proceeded to explain. "Not all spirits are as nice as me, kid. There are some who like hurting people, not just scaring them."

Eren's eyes widened, the previous terror coming back into his heart. "What—"

"That's a story for another time."

"But—"

" _Another time_ ," said the ghost, sternly. "Or I won't tell you at all."

Eren nearly smiled at the fact that the ghost had admitted that they would be talking again. Then he mentally slapped himself. "You were going to tell me how long you've been here."

"Seventy five years, give or take."

Eren choked on his spit. This dude was _old_ , but it was hard to think of him that way. He looked barely thirty, even with the makeup.

"So, that means—" Eren did some quick math. "You were alive during the Second World War?"

"That was quick," the ghost said, looking faintly impressed for the first time that evening. He wasn't smiling, but the corners of his lips were turned slightly upwards. _He's unfairly handsome,_ Eren thought. Then he screamed at himself mentally. Again. "You're good with numbers."

"I should hope so. Math is one of my minors."

"That's good." The ghost nodded. "I was a soldier in the war."

Eren's eyes widened. He was talking to someone who could recount the Second World War— Armin, who was writing his dissertation on the war, would be delighted to meet this guy. Assuming he didn't freak out and die before that.

"How'd you die?" Eren blurted, before quickly covering his mouth. "Sorry, that was rude. You don't have to answer if you don't want to—"

"It's fine, kid," the ghost waved a pale hand dismissively. "I don't remember, anyway."

"You don't remember—?"

"The last thing I can remember is talking about a mission with my team. The next thing I remember is waking up in the closet. A family had already moved in."

"Why here?"

"I used to live here," the ghost said, looking vaguely lost. "Around this area, at least."

"Makes sense," Eren nodded, though it didn't. Not really. "So where'd you get the—" he gestured to the other man's face, trying not to laugh. "—makeup?"

"I took it from the first family that lived here," said the ghost, not looking like he regretted it one bit. "I used it to scare off whoever came here."

"And it worked?"

"Like I said, you're the first person I've talked to since I died."

"So I'm special," Eren joked.

"So you are."

Eren blinked. There was no change in the ghost's expression.

"So, um." Eren tried to change the subject. "Do you have a name?"

"A name?" The ghost sounded surprised. Endearingly so.

Eren had no idea why he found a ghostly midget with a scowl and a terrible attitude _endearing._

"Yeah. You know, something that people call you by."

"I know what a name is, brat," but there was no bite in his voice. "I'm just trying to remember my own."

Eren waited patiently.

"Levi," he said finally. "Levi Ackerman. That's my name."

"Levi," Eren said, tasting the name. It suited him, somehow. He put out his hand for Levi to shake out of habit. "I'm Eren Jaeger."

Before he could withdraw his hand, Levi raised his own, gripped it and shook.

What. The. _Fuck._

They both stared down at their interlocked hands for a long time.

"You're solid."

"I am," Levi said, sounding equally surprised, though his face didn't give it away.

"Are you even a ghost?" Eren demanded, incredulously. "Or is this some kind of a joke?"

Instantly, Levi raised his left hand, disappeared and caused Eren's notebook to fly off the desk and hit him in the nose.

"Okay, okay, you're a ghost," Eren conceded, wheezing. "That wasn't necessary, Levi."

"Tch," he said, reappearing.

Levi's hand was cold, but not unpleasantly so— rather like how it felt on a chilly morning. They kept holding hands limply. Neither tried to pull away.

"Okay, let's try to get this makeup off your face," Eren said gently, though he didn't really know why. Levi didn't look like he needed gentle treatment, he looked like he could kick ass anytime. "Since you're actually solid, it shouldn't be a problem."

"Okay."

"Wait here, I'll go get a towel."

"I'm not going anywhere, brat."

Having a ghost in the house, albeit a grumpy one, was rather exciting, Eren admitted to himself as he wet a towel under the tap. Especially if you knew you weren't really in mortal danger anymore.

Levi hadn't moved an inch when Eren came back— only his eyes followed his movement across the room. Now that he thought about it, Levi had this weird glow about him, like there was a lamp behind his back. It was barely visible, but it was there.

"Sit on the bed," Eren told him. Levi complied, and Eren crouched in front of him, dabbing at his face with the wet cloth. The eyeliner was a pain to get off, but the red liquid— whatever that was— was surprisingly easy.

"What'd you use for the blood, anyway?" Eren grinned. "Watercolour?"

Levi mumbled something under his breath.

"What?"

"Cranberry juice," Levi muttered.

A moment of silence.

"Cranberry juice," Eren repeated, trying to keep the grin off his face and failing miserably.

"Say it one more time, kid, and I'll haunt your grandchildren forever."

"Yeah, right, like they'd be scared," Eren laughed, smudging the red juice off Levi's incredibly sharp cheekbones. "The first story I'm going to tell them is about Levi the Friendly Ghost."

"Eren, I swear—"

"Jeez, chill, I'm joking," Eren told him. He wiped the last bit of eyeliner from Levi's eyes and sat back to admire his work. "There, all done."

 _Damn, he's hot,_ he thought.

 _Shut up,_ his brain supplied.

 _Okay,_ he thought. _He is hot, though._

 _Yeah,_ his brain agreed.

Levi was _incredibly_ good looking, even with the long hair. He had high cheekbones and a jawline sharper than a knife, thin eyebrows and the narrowed eyes and scowl just made him look more mysterious and attractive. His face was delicate but strong, just on the male side of androgynous.

Eren didn't even ask himself what was wrong with him, this time. He'd given up.

"All done," he repeated, trying to not sound stupid. "Can't have you giving me jump scares every time you walk past me."

"You're staying, then?" Levi said, not sounding very pleased.

"Well, you can't kick me out," Eren pointed out.

"I could kill you," Levi stated calmly.

Eren stared. "You wouldn't, though." He hoped it was true.

"I wouldn't," Levi agreed.

This guy had the weirdest way of throwing Eren off. He kind of liked it.

"Anyway, yeah. I'm staying here for a while, cause my college is nearby and I can't exactly get another apartment." Eren scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. "I don't have that kind of money right now."

"I don't mind," Levi said, coolly.

"You don't?"

"Just keep the place clean."

Eren decided not to question the strange request. "Uh, sure. Okay."

He stood, his legs cramping from crouching on the floor for too long, yawning, the time of the night getting the better of him. He glanced at the clock. 2:37 a.m.

"You're tired," Levi observed.

"Well, it's kind of been a weird night for me," Eren joked lightly, stifling another yawn.

"You should sleep, brat."

"You won't kill me?"

"No promises."

"Levi!" Eren glared, pouting, but Levi was actually chuckling at Eren's expression, his dark eyes twinkling.

He looked _stunning._

 _Ugh,_ Eren told himself.

"I won't kill you, kid." He said, softly. "Go to sleep."

"Where will you be?" Eren asked, getting into bed.

"In the house somewhere. Guest bedroom, maybe. I don't really care."

"M'kay," Eren mumbled, burrowing under the covers, his eyes already closing. "It was...nice. To meet you." A yawn. "I'm glad. That I did."

He didn't reply, but the bed dipped beside him. He felt the ghost sitting on the edge of the bed, and Levi drew the covers up to Eren's chin.

 _His nails are nicely trimmed,_ Eren thought incoherently, as sleep tugged at him. He was just about to drift off when he heard Levi speak, so softly that he nearly thought he was mistaken.

"Same here, kid."

**Author's Note:**

> Comments are lovingly drooled upon!
> 
> I'm on [tumblr](https://captainkuroo-san.tumblr.com/)


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